Theresa started her show business career as a teenager,
selling tickets and checking names off guest lists at the Whisky A Go Go and
gained jobs of increasing responsibility culminating as a talent buyer. From
there, she joined Island Records music publishing arm where she worked to place
the music of artists such as U2, Tom Waits, John Cale and Richard Thompson into
movies and soundtracks.
When music videos started to become the standard in
promoting records, Theresa combined her skills, background and experience to
forge an eclectic and unique career path.
Stints at the leading intellectual property law firm, Frankfurt, Garbus,
Klein & Selz, and in media outlets, including the PBS flagship station WNET
(NYC), Viacom (MTV Networks, VH1 & VH1.com), Food Network and Cablevision
(Metro Channels, NYC) allowed Theresa to exercise her business and creative
acumen simultaneously.
Combining
business, creativity and technical prowess, Theresa became part of the team
that launched and produced Little Steven’s Underground Garage and Outlaw
Country radio shows together with their namesake, Steven Van Zandt as he toured
the world as part of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. The Underground Garage was one of the first
shows to be produced via ISDN in the nascent days of that technology.
In her work directly with artists, Theresa worked alongside
the late Jack Emerson (the two would become business partners in the years
before his untimely death) during and after the Praxis International days. The
two launched a label, Jack of Hearts, that folded with Emerson’s passing, but
that effort had laid the foundation for the future career of Sarah Borges. Theresa was instrumental in bringing the
talents of the universally respected Mod British keyboardist, Ian McLagan to
recording sessions for contemporary American rockers from the Georgia
Satellites to Izzy Stradlin & the JuJu Hounds.
To uphold and perpetuate Jack’s legacy, Theresa continues to
work with the Americana Music Association as part of the team that produces the
Conference and Festival. Emerson was one of the founders of the Association.
